For anyone who lives in London, the journey to Bahrain from Heathrow with say, British Airways, Gulf Air or Emirates; or even Ethiad Airways from Gatwick?, the flight is around 6-7 hours direct. For us poor hillbillies out in the sticks flying from the likes of Manchester, the journey takes ALOT longer. For me flying from Manchester, I had to fly KLM via Amsterdam to Bahrain with a further stop in Abu Dhabi. So, I have to fly 400 miles too far east to back track on my self to get to Bahrain. What a pain in the butt. From check-in at Manchester to check-in at the Radisson SAS Diplomat in Bahrain, it took 15 hours!!
Enough of the moaning.
With iPod packed, I checked into KLM at Manchester's terminal 2. I hadn't been there since I worked there in March and tried not to be spotted by the hundreds who knew me. There was no check-in que at 9.30 for the 10.25 departure on the KLM 1076 and so didn't need to use the business class check-in. Being a SkyTeam Elite member, or Continental OnePass silver, I thought I'd have my luggage prioritized. The agent tagged my bag with a red label that read 'SCHON'. Does anyone know what that means? Security? Priority?
There were some hefty ques at security and I noticed many of them were on the VS75, along with the other long haul charter's going out to Cancun etc. at that time of the morning. The passenger in front of me was in UC so was directed to fast track. The rest of us ecno scum riff rff remained patiently in-line. I got to the gate and bumped into an old friend - it's a small world isn't it! As the plane was boarding, my name was called over the tannoy to go up to the gate counter.
UPGRADE!!
FANTASTIC!!
Seat 3A as oppose to 30A. I almost asked the agent why she picked me. Was it the shirt and trousers? The SkyTeam elite? Did she fancy me?
Once sat down, I noticed the VS 747 parked next door. Didn't catch the reg but it was Barberella? We taxied out behind one of my companies A320's and A330's (bit of a geek, sorry). Take off was north east on 06R. The food was a cold platter of a salmon fillet, some king prawns, something that looked and tasted like sourkraut, a chocolate orange dessert job and bread. All of which, as nice as Im sure it would be at 7pm at night, was too much for me to handle at 10am.
We landed on a 'remote runway'. The chap I was sat next to was also in the airline industry and informed me of this. So it took about 15 mins to taxi in! Madness.
I'd never been to Sciphol (SP?) before and I can say it is HUGE! No wonder they loose so many bags.
At this point, I was still unsure where my aircraft was stopping. It never said anything on the ticket, or receipt, or even on the internet. I have to admit that I think KLM.com is naff. I couldn't pre-choose a seat or anything. Upon arriving at the gate for the flight, it was confirmed that we were going to stop in Abu Dhabi.
Boarding began and they called for SkyTeam Elite pax. But it's the usual story, the whole of the aircraft (full) stood up. I really couldn't be bothered fighting the crowd just to board first. Anyway, I changed my mind and let off some energy to get through the crowd! At Amsterdam, they have this silly system of checking your boarding card and then you having to wait in a second lounge before boarding. So by the time they'd checked everyone's cards, all the Elite/Ecno/SkyTeam big shots were mixed up again. Silly system. I took a seat next to a woman who decided to throw up into a carrier bag - typical me. I even sniffed my armpit to make sure I wasn't the root cause!
Boarding onto the 767-300 was called for the second time and SkyTeam/Biz/Yadda yadda pax were invited. This time, I couldn't be bothered. The crowed was too much. After waiting until last, I took my seat in 33K next to a kid, (thank god! ROOM!), but she decided to spread out big time. I kind-of expected this, but there were no PTV's. Just a screen at the front. No problem - iPod. I also read AirBabylon which is a must read for many of us on the forum.
After take-off, on a sensible runway after a classic NorthWest DC10, we were served a meal. Oh wait, here's a revelation - metal cutlery! In economy! This was shocker for me. Frankly, I didn't get to use it as the food was God awful. The choice was chicken or pasta. I chose Chicken - big mistake, Now, it takes a lot to disgust me - airline food-wise, but ave you ever had a rotten tooth? Well, it tasted like rotten tooth. (Just take it from me)
After a 6.30 hour flight, we over flew Bahrain any many oil flares and landed into Abu Dhabi at 0020 local. 60% of the pax got off here and the plane was cleaned with us still on-board. The flight deck crew also changed but the cabin crew stayed on. We hung around for an hour in the 40 degree heat (yes, at midnight!) and the new pax to Bahrain and back to Amsterdam boarded. We took off at 0130 and landed into Bahrain at 0020 local. (An hour behind Abu). Here, 50% of pax got off as some used the service as a shuttle between Abu and Bahrain.
My bag seemed to be one of the first to arrive, which leads me to think that 'SCHON' means priority. No problem at immigration and the driver from the hotel was waiting for me with a sign. It was so hot and humid at 1am that the windows were covered in condensation!
I have to say that KLM are a good airline for economy travel. I love the Dutch accent and FA's seemed to love their jobs. The aircraft was clean and tidy, although old im sure and the lack of PTV was a let down, but we are spoilt by the likes of BA and Virgin aren't we?
FYI - The Radisson SAS Diplomat in Manama, Bahrain, is fantastic. The views, staff and rooms are on par with what you'd expect for 5 star. I was even checked-in by someone I used to work with in the Manchester SAS Hotel. Again, such a small world - huh?!
FYI 2 - Whilst there, I did a one of those trips in BA first to Doha and back just to check it out. Ill post a trip report if anyone is interested.
